Medical-legal partnerships can mitigate climate health impacts on the underserved.

Abstract

To the Editor: Climate change has been referred to as a “wicked problem par excellence” because it constitutes a “series of linked problems that cannot be solved (or even diagnosed) in isolation.”1 Furthermore, climate impacts those least able to adapt, disproportionately affecting “the most vulnerable, including among children, older populations, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and those with underlying health problems.”2 Clinicians must be willing to work with allies outside of the medical arena to address climate change with a health equity lens. We, a family physician, and a legal aid lawyer in Florida, believe that Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) represent an underappreciated model for successful cross-disciplinary collaboration that can mitigate climate impacts on underserved populations. We call for more clinicians concerned about climate change to consider working with MLPs, and for more interdisciplinary research3 into MLPs and their ability to deliver meaningful improvements in climate resiliency. Climate effects on health can be exacerbated by inequality, such as increased precipitation contributing to incidence of mould in substandard housing that worsens a child’s asthma.4 Landlords may ignore the requests from low-income tenants to fix leaky pipes that cause the mould, rendering the child sicker and missing school more frequently. Many patients including immigrant populations5 may be unaware of their legal rights to have housing and sanitary codes be enforced and can benefit from a lawyer to advocate on their behalf. Other examples of climate vulnerabilities include unsafe working conditions or substandard educational environments.